(SAS) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Return
by Oc Specialist
Summary: What happens when Harry Potter receives a visit from a mysterious man who just wants to help? Find out. OC (Original Character) fic. Possible OOC (Out Of Character) Characters. Harry possible multiple relationship. Oc possible multiple relationship. M rating just in case.
1. Chapter 1

"Salem Cross"

Like a drop of water in a silent room, the voice seemed to echo throughout the darkness. Suddenly a light turned on in the center, shedding a circle of light down on one of the occupants of the room.

Kneeling on the cold looking gray tiled floor was a young man, his arms shackled fully behind his back to the point of not being able to move them an inch.

The young man was very much handsome with ice blue eyes and short black hair combed away from a face that looked as if it were carved by the gods. His attire was out of place, with an open black frock jacket, silk grey vest, pure white button up tucked into black suit pants, and a neatly made cravat. All in all he looked like a noble aside from the shackles.

The voice that had sounded out through the blackness just outside the ring of light began once again. "For your transgressions against life and death, time and space, and against the gods you have been a prisoner for four-hundred and thirty years. Your current remaining sentence being two-thousand two-hundred and thirteen years. Do you have anything to say in response?"

The young man on the floor had been staring at the floor as if it held the answer to life itself before finally looking up into the darkness. "Yea." Came the raspy response, his voice clearly not having been used in a while. "These shackles make it impossible to scratch my goddamned nose. Do you realize how itchy it is?"

There was a brief amount of silence in the room before a growl sounded out and the voice from before spoke out. "You insolent bug! You dare make a mockery of us?" The room, at this point was full of the voices power and was attempting to push down on the shackled man in the center, though the man simply smirked in response. This, in turn, riled the voice up even more as more and more power cascaded down upon the man until he made a grunt of effort trying to keep himself from moving from his spot.

"That's enough Herodotus." A new voice spoke up, this one softer in comparison and clearly belonging to that of a female. "You should be used to Salem Cross's behavior by now."

"Ah, if it isn't the lovely Faith. Excuse me for not kissing your hand in greeting my lady, I seem to be having issues standing up in my old age." Salem Cross spoke up with a passable mix between a charming and a mischievous smile.

"That's enough out of you as well Cross. We'll get straight to the point and tell you why we've brought you here. We have an offer."

Salem adopted a bland facial expression and almost blurted out 'no shit' but managed to reign it in at the last second. Instead opting to quit messing around and get to the business part of this 'meeting', if you could call it that that is. It was closer to bullying really. "Cut to the chase and cut all the vagaries while you're at it. Tell me what you want and what I get out of it."

The pressure in the room lightened up significantly as the original voice, now revealed as Herodotus, took the time since his outburst to reign in his emotions. "We call upon you again to be the shield and sword, so to speak, of another chosen one. Someone who has been blocked from fully coming into his own as fates chosen."

Salem stared into the darkness waiting, however as Herodotus didn't continue speaking, he did instead. "And what is it I get out of this?"

"Two-hundred years off your sentencing." Clearly feeling as though this was a damned good deal he expected it to be immediately snatched up.

"If that's all there is to it then no thanks." The shock was evident in the silence that followed the rejection. "This chosen one must not be very important to you if that's all you'd offer for my services. Though granted he's probably a little more important than some since I was the one carted here in the first place."

This time as Herodotus' emotions peaked yet again and power washed through the room Faith cut him off before he could explode. "And what do you believe is the worth of your power?" While there was exasperation and annoyance in her voice there was also clear curiosity as well. She truly wished to know what he thought he was worth.

"Two-hundred years off my sentence, plus one-hundred years on earth after the chosen ones destiny is met properly, an extra fifty if we do it before the boy reaches majority." Then thought for a second more before adding onto it. "Oh and my wand, staff, and potions too, for the sake of being sentimental... well that and the fact if i'm going to be training this kid then he's going to have to need demonstration. I just hope this isn't like the last time."

Silence dominated the room as the voices thought it through, though Salem suspected they were also talking to each other and discussing it mentally so he couldn't hear. God's he hated when they did that. They probably knew it too. Bastards.

"We accept on one condition. That the years on earth do not contribute to the years of your sentencing here, and that you give up your weaponry upon your return. We would do it anyway but I wanted you notified. We don't need any more of the headaches you cause."

After what felt like an eternity of silence and Salem staring at the floor, he looked up into the darkness and nodded his consent, muttering a 'sure' so they would stop bothering him already.

"The chosen one is Harry James Potter."


	2. Chapter 2

"Wow, and I thought my life was messed up. Well it is, but this kid might actually have it worse." Sitting in a white sofa in what looked like a lobby was Salem, holding open a file on the current chosen one, still in the same attire, and clearly no longer shackled. "Still, it's only the most possible future without my interference. Hopefully the kid will catch a break once we're done."

Standing in front of the man was a very beautiful woman with wavy blond hair, soft amber eyes, a white robe, and a glow about her that practically screamed 'Not Mortal' at you. "You, Salem Cross, were the one at fault for your terrible life. Had you not gone against the laws you wouldn't be here." The voice had revealed her to be the same woman who had spoken up at the meeting not long ago.

"And miss the pleasure of being in your presence my lady? Not ever. You have my word on that. I would do it all again just to see you." Without looking up at her he could still manage to tell he was irritating her. It was an enjoyably pass-time he'd had since arriving some four-hundred years ago. "Still, this kid is going to take quite a lot work if I'm going to prepare him for this prophesy of his. This Voldemort character might not be a sorcerer in any meaning, but he is very powerful for a wizard."

"You do know what you have to do to accomplish your mission right? This isn't as simple as you might think. These horcrux's aren't as bad as what you've managed but they still allow him to be permanently tied to the world if they aren't removed."

"True, even Nicholas wasn't able to completely manage what I did. Not that that matters at the moment." He flipped through some more papers in the file before closing it and leaning back into the sofa. "First thing's first I need to get him powerful, I won't be able to all that I need until the boy is eleven and his core can handle everything I throw at him, but I can get him started."

The woman stayed silent while Salem ran through some things he needed to do, though she'd correct him if he said something wrong they tended to let the man take care of his own planning. They didn't trust him so much as they believed he was rather good at what he did. A grudging fact that had kept the man useful. He knew it, and they knew it.

Most importantly, he knew they knew it.

"Of course I have to deal with all those who else want him for their own ideas. Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, that old man is about as powerful as Voldemort even in his old age. I hate scheming little piss-ants like him." Suddenly, in Salems anger, the folder burst into magnificent blue flames and just as quickly extinguished with not even ash remaining. "To manipulate the entire wizarding world like he has just angers me, both for the fact that he is a manipulative brat, and also for the fact that the wizarding world must have become far stupider and lazier for them to simply believe what they're told. Simple sheep."

"As far as I'm aware, since the ministry cut themselves off from the mundane world they have indeed become quite... disappointing." The woman had her hand on her chin and seemed lost in thought until Salem spoke again.

He had to get off the subject of the wizarding world. He couldn't stand stupidity. "The Dursley's are going to pay for their crimes against the boy, I'll see to that myself if need be. That Albus Dumbledore had willingly and knowingly put the boy with them adds to the crimes I'll see him 'done in' for."

"You cannot kill them. While they are, indeed, horrid beings, they are still technically innocent beings and not part of the prophecy. Albus Dumbledore is fair game, though I'd recommend you only kill him as a last resort, as you do need to take care of the boy. You can't do that from Azkaban prison."

"Then of course there are the Weasley's to consider. They take care of the boy on occasion after the boys attendance to Hogwarts has him becoming friends with their youngest boy. All this being Dumbledore's manipulations is quite besides the point I suppose, and should be obvious either way by now." Salem closed his eyes and seemed to be in though himself. "The mother is a mind-altering-potions fanatic and takes quite a lot of pleasure in dosing anyone to do as she wants. Love potions keyed to Ginevra, the youngest crotch-fruit on the family tree..." He stopped speaking as he noticed Faith make a face somewhere between disgusted and amused. Smirking he followed along. "Don't like that one? I've got plenty. Sprog is pretty popular, there's also shriekling, crayon-cruncher, snot-monster, poop factory, hellspawn, parasite, and of course, my very favorite... 'Oops'." This finally had the woman snort in a not very lady-like fashion before covering her mouth and glaring at him.

Taking the hint he simply rolled his eyes and pretended nothing happened. "Anyway, where was I? Oh yea, love potions keyed to Ginevra Weasley, loyalty potions to Molly Weasley, Ronald Weasley, and of course Ginevra Weasley. There's also some very minor repellent potions keyed to Hermione Granger, not enough that she doesn't want to stop being friends, but enough where she would never find herself attracted to the young boy. Granted she was also potioned with the same that Harry got, though it's obviously Ronald her love one is keyed to. Otherwise it would be awkward."

"Just get going already." Faith snapped her fingers and a crack in the air in front of him appeared, then widened until he'd fit.

"No kiss goodbye? Or perhaps for luck?" And then she pushed him through the portal rather roughly.


	3. Chapter 3

"She didn't have to be that rough." Now Salem was sitting against a tree in a lush green forest, rubbing his head where he had hit it after being pushed through the portal. "Now then, first thing's first." He took a look down, appreciating that he was wearing the same clothes he had on before she thrust him through. Sometimes the gods would leave him bare, though usually only if he managed to royally piss them off.

Next, after taking stock of himself, he looked around on the ground until finding a pile of his things. A grey wooden staff, runes covering almost every inch, a twelve-inch wand, white as freshly fallen snow with a black grip leather-like grip, a wrist-holster for the wand, also covered in runes, three keys of varying sizes, and a shrunken trunk that no doubt held all his more fragile things like potions. "Ah good, that's one of the parts of their end of the agreement held."

The staff magically went into the inner left inner breast pocket of his jacket, the wand to his wrist-holster on his right wrist, the shrunk trunk to his right front pants pocket and the keys to his inner right breast pocket.

With that he was done. After patting himself down for no other reason than because of habit, he exhaled long and then breathed in deeply with his eyes closed. Slowly black feathers sprouted from his cheeks, spreading to every part of him as he shrunk.

Soon there was a large raven where Salem was standing, stretching its legs and wings as if it hadn't moved in years. After a moment of this it spread its wings wide and took off, heading through the forest at speed.

* * *

It was another normal day in the Dursley household. Harry had been woken up by Petunia demanding for him to start breakfast. This had Harry up quickly, as he had learned that if breakfast wasn't on the table by the time Vernon and Dudley got up then he'd get a beating.

Harry actually didn't mind the cooking itself, it was something to do to both wake him up and take his mind off the nightmares. Not to mention he had gotten pretty good, he only got the occasional yelling about him being a 'terrible cook' and 'we don't know why we keep someone as useless as you around' though he was absolutely sure that was just because they wanted to yell at him.

He had just finished piling on the food he had made to everyone's plates, except his own which he was only allowed a very small portion or there would be punishment, when Vernon came down the stairs and into the kitchen, grumbling about needing coffee. Harry had, of course, made the coffee before-hand and handed the mug to Vernon who sneered in his direction before continuing to the table. Harry then put a plate down in front of Vernon, and the two other spaces for Petunia and Dudley. He himself wasn't allowed to sit at the table and ate on the counter away from them. The only time he was to eat at the table was for aunt Marge so she could insult him and his parents.

Another few minutes had Petunia and Dudley eating with Vernon and Harry off to the side listening in. "Took the day off." He heard his uncle say. "That place can't do anything without me, the useless lot of 'em, but I need a vacation." Harry almost groaned out loud but managed to keep it silent. There goes his day lounging about in his cupboard. Vernon would never allow that.

When Petunia was about to comment there was a knock on the front door. "Who the bloody hell could be knocking at a time like this?" With the chair creaking under the sudden loss of the massive weight that was Vernon, he went down the hall to check the door.

"Who the hell are you and what do you want?" The words peaked the curiosity of those in the kitchen but they couldn't hear the person reply, obviously speaking far lower than Vernon.

* * *

At the Door was Salem, twirling about a large ravens feather in his left hand. Standing before him was a very large man, something Salem wanted to immediately comment on, but held his tongue. Civilized for now, then the violence would come if he didn't get his way. "Good morning, I apologize for coming so early in the day, but it was the most convenient. I'm here about Harry P-" No more was able to be said as the door was immediately slammed into his face.

Now let it be known that Salem was a very patient man... sometimes. However, to have a door simply slammed into ones face tended to expedite things a bit. With a simple 'How rude' Salem pressed his hand against the wood of the door and _pushed_.

Shrapnel went everywhere, the farthest reaching being at the foot of the kitchen where Vernon now stood, a violent shade of puce coloring his face. "You freak! How dare you do this, in my home! I'll call the police."

Salem merely walked down the hallway with a smile as the shrapnel vibrated and flew back towards the door as if in reverse. All of them of course went around Salem. Though that had Salem thinking about a new way to use a spell like that. No, bad Salem, don't get distracted.

"That was rude of you mister Dursley. I merely wished to speak to you about your nephew." Once he reached the inside of the kitchen, having backed Vernon up until he hit the table and had nowhere left to go. Behind him and down the hall now stood a perfectly repaired door.

"You'll not be staying in this house a moment longer freak!" Though any further insults or, in fact, any words at all could leave his mouth Salem waved his hand and Vernon could no longer open his mouth.

"Now which of you is Harry Potter."


	4. Chapter 4

"I'm... I'm Harry Potter, sir." There, in the corner of the kitchen and away from the rest of the Dursley family, was Harry. The boy was skinny, Salem noted almost absently, too skinny for words. Clearly he was malnourished and in need of healing. One-Above-All knew how many times the boy had to have been beaten for such negative effects to appear.

Salem also absently noticed, out of the corner of his eye that Vernon had run to somewhere in his house while Petunia and Dudley were as far as they could get without abandoning the room. Although Petunia was holding Dudley protectively around the shoulders both of them looked like he could simply look in their direction to make them keel over.

However amusing the last two observations were he had a more important job to do. "Good morning Harry James Potter, I am Salem Jerrik Cross. It's a pleasure to meet you kid." He held out his hand in greeting and waited. He had absolutely no doubts that the kid was panicking, but it seemed the boy was rather good at hiding that. He surmised that it was from being beaten down and belittled, but that was just a guess.

Harry hesitantly took the hand offered and shook it with trembling hand. Salem ignored the trembling though, it was only natural in this situation. "Now then, I have a very important question to ask you kid, but we'll have to wait for the fat man to come back."

As if called by the horrendous nickname, Vernon came storming back into the kitchen with a shotgun aimed at him. "Leave now or I'll blow your head off!" He was a rather impressive purple color now, though Salem wasn't sure what the precise color name was, he supposed all that was besides the point... Not to mention completely irrelevant to the situation.

Salem took one look at the shotgun itself, a double break-barrel shotgun, that was now very close to his face. Normally one would panic in this situation but Salem simply looked past the gun and at Vernon's ugly face with a very relaxed expression. "Then shoot. You seem the type that's a coward after all, I doubt you could ever pull the trigger even on a 'freak' like myself." After waiting a moment and just before Vernon's trigger was fully depressed, a sword appeared out of thin air and sliced through the shotgun like butter. Now separated at the trigger the gun came apart and the shells spilled their contents onto the ground from their two halves.

"Color me impressed Mr. Dursley. I hadn't actually expected you to do it. That still makes you scum, but i suppose part of the blame lies in my taunting so I won't hash out further insults." Dursley, in the late reaction it was, yelled and dropped the two halves of his gun on the floor, his face now pasty white. Quickly the large man backed up until he stood with his family. The whole room became silent as the grave.

With a sigh Salem rested the blade he had summoned on his shoulder. "Now I was hoping to have a nice little discussion about young Harry here, perhaps both of us could come to a mutually beneficial agreement."

"I don't want to deal with any more freaks like yourself!" He clearly couldn't help himself, insulting the man who could have killed him in the slash that had cut his precious gun in half.

"I planned on giving you money. A nice amount too. However it would require some things I don't have on hand at the moment so I was hoping to come to an agreement before we got down to anything else." At the sound of money Vernon's eyes widened and some of the color returned to his face.

"What could you possibly want from the brat?"

"I want the kid himself. He's clearly not being raised correctly in this environment and the boy is special to my kind."

At that bit of information Harry's own eyes widened and he seemed to gather a little more courage than he had a moment ago when he had witnessed the dazzling display of something you would find in a movie. "S-sir? What do you mean I'm special? I'm not anything special, I'm just Harry."

Salem snorted. "Listen kid, It's going to take quite a while to explain that to you and I'd rather not do that in front of the muggles."

"Muggles?"

"Those humans born without magic are labeled as muggles by those with magic. At least where Britain is concerned. Basically you're a wizard Harry... Don't let it get to your head."

"But I can't be a wizard, I'm just me."

Salem rubbed the bridge of his nose. He couldn't understand why he had wanted a child so bad in his original life. They were simply difficult.

"You ever make things just happen out of nowhere? Things appearing or disappearing, or maybe something else unexplained?"

"T-There was one time Dudley and his gang were chasing me I wanted to be anywhere else and then suddenly I was on the roof of the school."

"Target-less apparition is a rather dangerous form of accidental magic. Could have ended up splinched. Anything else?" Salem looked down at Harry, and on Harry's questioning gaze Salem sighed. "Apparition is basically what muggles call teleportation. Here one second and there the next. I'll explain splinched to you when you're older."

Though Harry was about to respond it appeared as though Vernon had finally gotten annoyed at being ignored. "If you want the brat then take him! We won't stop you!"

"Oh I'm absolutely sure you couldn't anyway. However if I were to do that then the magical government would simply put the boy back into your custody. Something neither of us want."

"And you have an idea that would ensure we'd never see him again?"

Salem's smile was particularly vicious as he leaned on his sword like a cane. "Without a doubt."


	5. Chapter 5

"You're telling me that you want me to go with you to the place where freaks like you are abundant just so i can get rid of the brat?" Vernon, Salem and Harry sat at the kitchen table where the food had laid forgotten even by the two fat ones of the house, though the younger fat one seemed to be regretting leaving the plate where the stranger sat. He could do to lose some weight anyway.

Vernon seemed like he was getting angry all over again but Salem merely sat there with a relaxed expression before picking up a piece of bacon and biting into it casually."Actually I'm telling you to go to the place where freaks like me are abundant so you can never see the 'brat' again. No one will be able to force him into your household again, you will never have to see him again unless you somehow manage to pass by him on the streets at some point. Even then you can simply ignore him... That and quite a bit of money your way if everything goes smoothly."

"And what would we do once we got to your freakish haven?" The elder fat one was cross between joy at never seeing the child again and anger at having to deal with more of the mans _kind_ to do it.

"That's simple. there's only one place to go for binding contracts that can't be contested." The vicious smile returned and his eyes seemed to leak a form of almost evil intent.

"Where?" Vernon asked suspiciously. He didn't like the way the man was looking at him.

* * *

"Welcome to Gringotts how can I help you?" From behind the tellers glass was a goblin looking at them with mild disgust. Oh it was hidden of course, it wouldn't do to lose customers simply because goblin/wizard relationships were in the toilets.

"Good morning master teller, well met." Salem responded with a slight bow of his head. Vernon meanwhile was staring at the goblin in almost horror, muttering about 'freakishness' and 'the world needs to wipe them out'. Thankfully he at least had enough tact to make sure the goblin didn't hear. Perhaps the fact that all the goblin guards had swords forced this.

Harry was just looking around in awe of everything.

The goblin on the otherhand was surprised at both the semi-formal goblin greeting and the respect he had been given for his job. He didn't comment though as his original question was still unanswered. "I have a most urgent need to see master Ragnok of the Boneslicer clan. I imagine his family still holds high enough rank for me to do what needs to be done." He hadn't been in a Gringotts bank in quite some time, so he felt a bit out of information. Something he hated dearly.

"Master Ragnok is now head of Gringotts bank and is thusly very busy. I can, however, have a message sent up to him if your need is truly dire. I will have to ask your name to be added to that message of course." Salem clearly had the goblins curiosity peaked now. Not many people knew a goblins name, even fewer new the head goblins name. The goblin didn't even want to calculate the chances of someone knowing the head goblins clan name on top of all of that.

"Of course, I am in agreement. My name is Salem Jerrik Cross, Lord of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Family of Cross. My message is thus: 'Ragnok, the Cross family is back and is in dire need for help. By the agreement of your ancestors I request your hand in something very personal and secret.'" Salem then waited to make sure that everything was written down. The goblin was eyeing him suspiciously and Salem could already figure out what he was thinking. If this was a prank Salem's head would roll.

Noted.

The teller then flagged down a nearby guard and had him run up to deliver it. They could really run fast when encouraged by a public beheading. Whether it was theirs or someone else's differed very little. It was just a different motivation.

It was another few minutes before the guard came back down, a pale white, which is rather remarkable for the warrior/banker race that is the goblins. Clearly Ragnok was rather well feared. Of course fear and respect went hand-in-hand amongst the goblins. This went beyond Salems calculations. He had expected Ragnok to be a higher rank, but not that high.

"Ragnok demands the wizards immediate presence."

* * *

Salem waited as the surprisingly spartan door was opened for him, Vernon, and Harry. All were standing outside the head goblins, Ragnoks, office. As soon as he was in a harsh voice awaited him on the other end.

"The Cross family has been gone after the disappearance of its last head of house. what proof do you have that you are who you say you are?" A scarred goblin sat behind a desk, yet again being spartan in design.

"I am, of course, willing to submit to veritaserum, goblin blood identification, and a wizards oath." Salem confidently strode across the room and stood in front of the goblins desk. "However I have a much easier solution to this. I am not a wizard... I am a sorcerer."

Ragnok went wide-eyed at that proclamation. Not many people could stride up to his desk and claim what his old goblin ears heard. Not many people knew the distinction between a wizard and a sorcerer, even wizards weren't really in the know. Then again they couldn't really be blamed since there was only one sorcerer in the past thousand years, probably more.

Salem, seeing he hadn't quite broken through to the old goblin and leaned forward over the desk and whispered so the two behind him wouldn't hear. "Of course I don't expect you to remember me Ragnok, after all you were just a youngling back then, dragging his grandfathers axe behind him and announcing that you would be the... 'best goblin this family had ever seen, or ever will.'" Salem smirked and stood upright as the color drained from Ragnoks already whitish face, though the white from before was simply because of old age.

"Master Cross, how... what... it's... not possible."

"Good morning Master Ragnok. My name is Salem Jerrik Cross."


	6. Chapter 6

"So what can this old goblin do for you Lord Cross?" They were now all seated just beyond Ragnoks desk, Harry and Salem sitting in the chairs that Salem had conjured and Vernon, having refused adamantly in not touching anything related to magic, sat in the one that was provided before they even entered the room. The old goblin had pointedly ignored the other two humans and focused entirely on doing business with Salem.

"I wish to sign a binding agreement with Mr. Dursley here over the custody of young Harry Potter." Getting straight to the point Salem laid it all out in front of him. "I imagine, the one who put Harry into the care of the Dursleys has a lot of political sway, as much as being able to lock away the parents wills. As such I want the contract to be as tight as possible with no loopholes that could ever see the boy anywhere near the Dursley family ever again. A win-win is it not Mr. Dursley?"

Vernon himself was doing his best not to blow up at the ugly little gnome and the infuriating freak next to him. He had to constantly remind himself that this was the only way to get rid of the boy for good. His wife and son would be safe from the freakishness and he'd have a lot less issues. Sure he would miss the five-hundred pounds a month to take care of him, and he would miss being able to beat on the boy without having to take his anger out on other things. Maybe he'd buy himself a punching bag instead. At least that wouldn't cause freakish things to happen around it.

It couldn't talk either so that was a bonus.

Ignoring the lack of response Salem turned back to Ragnok who had already started writing up a document as soon as he heard the first line out of the sorcerers mouth. In the end he had a rather nice looking, and very official, document scroll in front of him with all the necessary things. Never to see any of the Dursleys again, at least not on purpose, accidents don't count. To be the heir of Salem Jerrik Cross until such time as Salem had his own child, in which case Harry would become a 'branch' family member. Of course this was simply for the wizengamot itself. Harry would be able to keep the Potter name with the add-on that he would have Cross hyphenated on as well.

There were other things tacked on that Salem wanted to keep a surprise for another time, fine print and all, but the entire thing was as free of loopholes as they could tell, and goblins were _very_ good at finding those.

Once all four of them signed, Ragnok having to sign as witness, the scroll disappeared. "Oh goody. And it's not even lunch yet, perfect. Ragnok, I need to be getting Mr. Dursley here back home, but while I'm doing that can you take care of Harry? Oh yes, and I'll need a complete run-down of all of the Cross accounts as well."

Normally a goblin would fight tooth and nail against such commands, not because of the commands themselves, rather because of his station in life. However this proved untrue for Ragnok as he simply nodded as if he understood.

Salem turned to Harry who, throughout the whole process ever since the morning greetings, was confused, scared, awed, and embarrassed. It was a bit amusing and irritating at the same time for Salem who had always been confident in himself and his actions since he was the boys age. He would never look down on the boy for feeling them though. They had different upbringings and thus different personalities and actions. He refused to allow the boy to hide away in himself though. He needed confidence and that was what Salem would provide before the boys schooling. Well, and after.

"Harry, we'll talk about all of this once we're done at Gringotts but I want you to know that you will always be safe with me. Goblins themselves might look a bit scary but they're really really good with children. So don't worry about anything right now. I'll escort Vernon back home and come back here, then once we're done with my business we'll go talk over some icecream. Sound good?" He smiled warmly, making sure to keep some distance from the boy. Salem might have been very confident in his youth but he wasn't stupid as to how to treat those who were not.

Even as Harry nodded meekly, Salem could see quite a few positive emotions blossoming in those young eyes. A dash of happiness, a pinch of hope, and a heap of relief, among others. The relief that Salem felt at those emotions didn't come near what the boy did he was sure.

"Now then Vernon, let's get going shall we?"

"I just want to get the hell out of here."

"Of course you do. I'll escort you as far as a taxi."

Their voices trailed down the hall until the doors to Ragnoks office closed, leaving a small and rather unsure young boy and a smirking goblin alone.

With Salem and Vernon however, Salem was leading Vernon back through Diagon Alley. Luckily there weren't many wizards or witches around. It was, after all, the middle of the week and the only ones who didn't really work were those on the Wizengamot, teachers, or those on vacation of course. Salem suspected that would change within a few hours. By lunchtime the place would be crowded.

As they made it out to the street Vernon was able to hail a cab rather quick. "I'd say it's been a pleasure Mr. Dursley but I can assure you it wasn't. If I see you again I would have no issues cutting your head off the same way i did that gun of yours." He had to lean in somewhat closer into the window of the cab so the driver wouldn't hear but it had the effect he desired as Vernon went white as a ghost.

With a smirk Salem waved the cab off.

* * *

 **AN: I wasn't sure about this chapter, i might change it in the future.**


	7. Chapter 7

"Well, I think that we can all attest that it's been an interesting day, no?" Salem asked with a slight laugh after he had joined Harry and Ragnok back in the bank.

He had returned some seconds ago to see Harry chewing on a crescent-shaped cookie and drinking some milk. The sight brought a small smile to his face.

Ragnok studied Salem for a minute while he was looking at Harry. "If you don't mind my asking Lord Cross but where have you been all these years? I may remember that moment you stated earlier very well, but I also remember not long after that you had disappeared. It's been a long time since then." He stopped speaking for a moment as another goblin came in with a tray that carried two cups of tea and some more crescent cookies. He didn't start speaking again until the goblin had left. "I should have at least heard some small things about your presence but nothing at all cropped up since your disappearance."

Salem sighed and looked past Ragnok out the magical window that made it seem there were vast fields behind the bank. "Even I do not properly know where I was. I am also not allowed to speak of my time there too much, but all you need to know is that more time passed by there than it did here. For you I've been gone around... It's 1988 right? Then I've actually only been gone a little over 40 years. For me, however, it's been over 400? Maybe? I'm a bit tired." Even Salem had to sigh at that number. The last time he was here he was with Newt most of the time. Granted that could have been in an alternate universe. Sometimes that happened too.

Salem waved his hand. "We can talk about those things another time Director, for now we have to take care of more important things." He looked over to Harry who still looked a little bewildered by everything. "Harry." He called the young boys attention to him. "I know this all feels a bit sudden and new, but you'll have all the time in the world to get used to it. You'll be living with me from now on but that requires knowing things."

"Yes Sir." Harry responded quickly, albeit meekly. Salem restrained from saying anything about the boys lack of confidence for now and merely filed it away for another time. Speaking of filing away, he would have to teach the kid occlumency after they reorient themselves. Harry to his new family member, and Salem to the current year.

"Well, that'll be a long talk later on. I'll probably wait until tomorrow for that actually. After today you'll probably be too exhausted for it to matter. For now..." He turned his attention back to Ragnok with a smile. "My earlier request, is it done?" Clearly referring to the account request from before he walked Vernon out.

Clearing his throat Ragnok put on his glasses and looked down at the papers in front of him. "Of course. Three accounts still remain open. The Matriarchal and Mistress accounts have been empty but left open until you request them closed. The main account is, of course, not empty and the key you destroyed for it can be replaced with some minor cost to you. Would you like the full description of the contents?"

Salem thought on it for a moment before realizing that if he did they might be here for a while. "No, thank you, just run me through any Cross properties still standing.

"Very well." It seems Ragnok had figured that would have been the case, as he didn't even bother changing around the papers in his hand, apparently already having the necessary ones already in front. "Cross Island is still within Cross ownership, however the houses on the island have since been raided and none are currently suitable for living. Other than that the only one still standing to this day is the summer home in France."

Salem frowned visibly. He had expected damages but to the extent of only having two homes left with one being currently unlivable was far beyond what he expected. He remembered the beautiful mansion he was born in long ago, only tainted by those who lived inside. He remembered each and every wall, every painting, every piece of wood and brick used to build it.

Thanks occlumency.

"Are my vaults extensive enough to cover the cost for Goblin workers to rebuild a home to my specific tastes?" It would be good if he could get it back the way he wanted. If only for some nostalgia.

The old Goblin scratched at his chin for a moment before shuffling through the papers in his hand. "Even with a discount it would be hard to say. We Goblins are the best craftsmen but we are well known to be expensive. Of course if you can't cover the costs we'll gladly make up the difference in a loan."

Salem inwardly winced, glad he didn't show it on his face. There was no way he would ever take a loan from a Goblin unless he was flat out desperate, and even then he'd hesitate immensely. Then an idea grabbed him. "What if I provide all the materials?"

"Hmm, depends on the size of your idea and the quality of the materials, we Goblins don't like working with sub-par materials. A castle is out of the question with your current funds but a mansion should be fine."

"Perfect. You'll never find materials like the ones I have anyway. We can hash out more details on that later. For now Harry and I should excuse ourselves. We don't want to intrude on your busy schedule now that the more important stuff is out of the way. In the meantime, we'll get out of your way for now. I'll be back either tomorrow or next week once I've had proper time to adapt."

After a few goodbyes and thanks for the cookies. Salem and Harry left the bank. One deep in thought and the other in relief.


	8. Chapter 8

"Toffee Apple." An aged female voice with a Scottish accent rang out through the empty halls of Hogwarts eliciting sounds of both an echo of the voice and the grinding of stone against stone as a gargoyle moved to the side, unblocking the entrance to the Headmasters office.

Soon the speaker found themselves in a well decorated office. It was a large and beautiful circular room. A number of curious silver instruments stood on tables, whirring and emitting little puffs of smoke. The walls were covered with portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses, all of whom were either snoozing gently in their frames or were missing altogether. There was also an enormous, claw-footed desk, and, sitting on a shelf behind it, a shabby, worn-looking wizards hat.

At the desk itself sat an old man in a bright yellow robe that most would call gaudy, and that was if you were being nice. In his hand was a silver device similar to those that were on tables nearby, although this one seemed to have broken as it sputtered occasionally and twitched sporadically. Only when the old man noticed his guest approaching his desk did he look up from the instrument revealing he had a slight frown on his wrinkled face. "Ah, Minerva. I'm glad you could come so quickly."

"What could ever be the matter Albus?" Minerva McGonagall frowned as she stopped in front of the headmasters desk. Not much could make the old man frown like he was now. Unless someone took his sweets away of course.

"I'm afraid Harry Potter is no longer with the Dursleys. The wards failed earlier this morning. When I went there to figure out what went wrong I found the young Mr Potter to be gone." This got a gasp from the Transfigurations professor. Thee wards failing was one thing, magic wasn't always perfect after all, but for the boy to be gone was something else entirely.

"Are you sure he wasn't just out for the day with friends? or another family member perhaps?" She asked in a hopeful tone that showed clearly how concerned she was.

"I'm afraid not Minerva. In my questioning the Dursleys, they could merely provide a name of the person who took him." Of course by 'questioning' he meant liberal use of legilimency, but McGonagall didn't need to know that since it was illegal to use on unwilling participants. "A man named Salem Cross, who also seems to be a wizard, and a powerful one if they are to be believed."

 ** _-Back with Salem and Harry-_**

"So... I'm famous because my parents got killed by a maniac?" Harry asked as he licked his vanilla ice cream cone. Him and Salem were sitting on a bench in a muggle park with ice cream cones in hand. Harry had a one scoop vanilla whereas Salem had a three scoop of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry, having professed himself having a massive sweet tooth.

"Well, not technically. You're famous because you survived something no one else in history has. Even I don't know how exactly it happened and you could consider me a rather studious person." Well, when one has a couple hundred years of doing nothing but reading and experimenting you tend to pick some things up. That and wandless magic, but that came easier to him because he was a sorcerer.

"The, what did you call it? Killing Curse?" Thankfully Harry had seemingly opened up a bit more to Salem after their long talks. Salem did not want to raise and train a kid that wanted nothing to do with him. Well, until teenage years where that happened anyway at least.

"Yea, it's called the Killing Curse. It's one of the big three that you're not ever supposed to cast. They call them the unforgivables for a reason. You will learn all about those later, along with many other things." Licking up some ice cream that slipped down onto his hand he spared Harry a glance. He would have to run some evaluations on the boy. Or, perhaps better yet he needed someone else to do it.

"Harry. I know we've just met earlier, and I've just become your guardian, but do you trust me enough for me to bring you to a personal healer? A doctor for wizard kind I mean. I have a friend who can keep it private. I know some prying eyes that would want to get their hands on your files."

Harry frowned slightly, not put off with the idea, simply in thought. "Who would you be taking me to?"

Salem smirked. "Someone who has forgotten more about medicines, potions, and healing than almost any wizard or witch, alive or dead, could ever hope to learn."

Harry hesitantly nodded his head, agreeing to go with the man to see a healer. Maybe whoever it was could even fix his eyesight. That would be nice.

"Good, finish your ice cream." Salem, who had somehow finished his ice cream while Harry wasn't looking, causing the boy to blink a few times, relaxed on the bench and took up an old pastime of people watching. Or in this case, specifically Muggle watching.

 ** _-Later-_**

Salem and Harry were standing outside of what looked like an old run-down shack with cracked windows and boards missing. Harry looked on with glazed eyes whereas Salem was smiling in amusement. They had just apparated here and Salem was unsurprised that, until they had reached the cabin, Harry was very close to losing the ontents of his stomach.

"I just remembered I have something to do." Harry tried to turn around until Salem put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"That's just the magic of the Repelling Ward working on you. Don't worry Harry, you don't have anything else to do. Oh, also if you're seeing a run-down building and are hesitant about that, it's not actually run-down. That's an Illusion Ward. Just in case the Repelling Wards didn't work I imagine." Salem kept mumbling to himself as he half lead, half dragged harry to the front door and knocked.

As soon as the door opened to reveal a young woman with deep brown hair and matching eyes, the house itself changed into a beautiful log cabin sitting next to a lake that hadn't been there a few seconds ago.

"Perenelle, it has been to long... but I am glad you are as beautiful as always. Is Nicolas around? I'd like to say hello to him as well."


	9. Chapter 9

"Not that I don't love having you around again, but what exactly are you doing here?" A young man not much older looking than Salem sat in an armchair by a fireplace with the latter sitting next to him in another armchair.

"Come now Nicolas, I thought that was obvious. I'm here getting little Harry a checkup." The Sorcerer responded with a smirk and a gesture towards a room behind them where Perenelle had led Harry into earlier to give him a check over and to apply any potions or medicines needed.

"You know exactly what I meant Salem. I love you like a brother, but you can be such a child sometimes." It seemed like Nicolas wasn't in the mood for joking around at the moment as he removed his eyes from the fire and at Salem.

Salem sighed and ran a hand down his face, then leaned forward in his chair and stared deeply into the fire. "Something major is going to happen Nic." He looked over at Nicolas, feeling every bit his age as he stared at one of his oldest living friends. "The Council was willing to give me a hundred and fifty years here for their little mission this time. I thought I was pressing my luck when I offered it but it was a pretty quick agreement. They even agreed to leave me with all my personal effects. Including my research."

"That is pretty serious, and the only things those old fools are ever serious about is immortality and prophecy. So I have to ask... You're not here for me and Nelle are you?" Thankfully this was not the case, as attested by a head shake from Salem. "Oh good, I wasn't sure how I would react if you said yes." Followed by a long sigh of relief from the old Alchemist.

"It's actually a bit of both really. Voldemort, the one who caused all that mayhem years back followed in our old _friend_ Herpo's footsteps and made a horcrux." Allowing for a gasp of surprise and horror from his friend Salem waited for a second before continuing. "The worst part is it wasn't just one, although I do not know how many exactly there is I do know that there shouldn't be any more than seven."

"And the prophecy? You aren't going to tell me you were predicted."

Salem blinked and arched a brow. "Not me Nicolas. I thought it were obvious I was talking about the boy. You didn't think I'd bring anyone here if they weren't trustworthy did you?" He then sighed and closed his eyes. "The boy and Voldemort were destined to battle it out and my mission is to make sure he succeeds with the least amount of casualties."

The room remained silent for a few long minutes before Nicolas spoke up again. "Any help you need I'll see about providing my friend. I may only be good at Alchemy, but my reputation should help open some doors if you ever need it." Although that subject brought up another thought. "Speaking of reputations, will you be taking your familial seat on the wizengamot? I imagine the seat is going to appear the next time they convene regardless of your choice. I know how much you _love_ politics." The joke, while not entirely funny in itself did certainly brighten the mood up from the dark line it was going down. This allowed them to move onto better topics while Perenelle and Harry were in the other room.

Harry sat stock still in his underwear as various numbers appeared through the air around him with every silent cast from the witch across from him. Clearly there was something bothering her as she furrowed her brows or mumbled under her breath in a heated debate.

As if sensing the boys discomfort Perenelle sighed and smiled a bit before moving over to a chest in the corner of the room. "So Harry, tell me, how did you meet that wayward dog Salem? He wouldn't bring you here if he didn't trust you enough with our secret." She opened the lid of the trunk and began looking through the various potions inside.

With Perenelle's back turned to him Harry felt comfortable in at least looking around the room while he decided what to tell her. The room itself had an old feel to it and smelled a bit lemony, with a desk sitting underneath the window looking out at the lake, the desk was cluttered with old parchment and quills, various designs and complex equations could roughly be seen on the parchment. On the other side of the room was a counter with various dried plants, bugs, and other things harry couldn't identify, though the counter too had parchment all over the place, this time with diagrams and sketchings on them. "He came to my house and talked my uncle into letting him adopt me." For some reason he felt much calmer and able to talk than he had been before.

"That's a bit odd for him. Usually he doesn't bother with such intricacies. I would have expected him to have blown up your uncle and had taken you that way." Harry had thought she was telling a joke and would have laughed but seeing her face he decided she might not have been kidding after all so he gulped instead.

"Oh I'm just joking with you Harry, don't worry. He's a good man and you're in good hands with him." If he had been able to see her face from where she was pulling out a few vials of various fluids he would have seen the absolutely disbelieving look she had on her face as she said the first part. She most certainly wasn't joking.

"Alright Harry, I just need you to take some of these potions, then in ten minutes we'll check all your numbers again." She watched as he downed all the vials she had handed to him, even though they were disgusting she forced him not to spit them out and swallow them all. After all of them were done and he shuddered and gagged Perenelle simply smiled. "Now, would you like some tea with that?"

* * *

 **This season is so needlessly busy.**


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